Type bar actuating means



July 16,v 1935.

H. BENZING TYPE BAR ACTUATING MEANS Filed Dec. 14, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dyan/or- July 16, 1935. H. BENZING TYPE BAR ACTUATING MEANS Filed Dec. 14, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Im en/or: %2-7- July 16, 1935. BENZ|NG 2,008,384

TYPE BAR ACTUATING MEANS I Filed Dec. 14, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inven/or:

Patented July 16, 1935 2,008,384

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TYPE BAR ACTUATING MEANS Hugo Benzing, Dresden, Germany, gnor to Aktiengesellschatt vorm. Seidel & umann, Dresden, Germany I Application-December 14, 1933, Serial No. 702,356 In Germany December 28, 1932 s piaims. (oi. 197-27) This invention relates to a type-bar actuating by way of example in the accompanying drawings, means for typewriters, calculating machines and in which the like, in which the movement of all key bars Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through a typerocking about a common. axis is transmitted to .Writer furnished with type-bar actuating means.

the type bars or intermediate bars through the Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the arrangement 5 medium of rocker bars and connecting rods. In of the key bars. machines of this kind hitherto known it has'mere- F gs. 3 and 4 each show a position of the trans 1y been usual to ensure that the type bars are mission members tw the key b and yp imparted an increasing acceleration. ba

In the machine according to the invention not Fig. 5 is a p r elevetiohel View Of type- 10 only are the type bars operatedwith an increasr Segment with three difi yp -ba drives, ing speed, but also attention is paid to the fact and that all keys, irrespective of the row in which 6 isa raphi s n ati n f t typ they happen to be situated, are movable to the bit! drive. same extent and may be struck with equal force. Figure 7 is a modified form of a rocker 15 This advantage is accomplished by the fact that The typewriter possesses in the usual ve the rocker bars operated by the key bars are so tional arrangement the frame 50, in which there embodied in respect of the entire machine that is mounted the y bar Segment 5 e t rfirmly despite the different lengths of the key bars the or adjustable upwar and d wnwa s. Th ype. '0 rear ends of the rocker bars of all type bar actubars move in the usual fashion about an axis ating means possess the same extent, of move- 53, and rest in the stationary position'with the ment, the same acceleration and the same force heads 54 011 a D moving the yp s of movement. The essence of the invention ac- 52 there are employed the y s O th cordingly consists in the fact that the rocker there are usually ded u rows, whih in bars belonging to each row of key bars are pivoted the raw n s are ated C and All 25 t th key bars in such fashion with the end key bars 56 move about a shaft 58 mounted indirected towards the keys that the points of enthe Comb 57, d are acted upon by sprin gagement of th r k ba t t h t key which tend to maintain the key bars 56 in the liftbars are disposed at a greater distance from the ed position- The y ar 6 are uided in a comb 3 axis of movement of the key bars than those in 69, and rest in the Stationary position against respect of th long key b h i t curved the elastic fitting6l of a transverse bar 62. tions of the rocker bars are so formed that the The key bars 55 ach Possess an arm W rear end of the r k ba it t in alignwhich'they each engage witharocker bar 64. The ment, are imparted th same degree of movement, rocker bars 64 rest against the one arm 65 of ,the

the same acceleration and the same amount of angle ber 66, w ch is mounted n the s e 1 01- 35 force. tions of the frame of the machine. In the sta- By reason of thi arrangement ii; is possible tionary position of the key bars 56 and the rocker through th di of connecting rods of equal bars 64 the latter rest merely with the projection length, to operate by means of the k r b 61 on the arm 65. At the point of contact of the tardiat levers performing th same angular projections 61 an elastic fitting 68 is let into the 40 movem nt, whi h provides th possibility of bar. At a certain distance from the projection 61 furnishing a mechanical drive which will operate there commences the curved rocker Surface 1 the type bars without exerting a reaction of any which extends. almost t the Point Of agekind on the type bars, whereby the key bars, with merit of the The rocker levers 64 are t small extent of movement, serve as actuating eleguided in a comb TO the end 7| 0f e r c er 45 ments for th mechanical drive, The same force bars 84 there is pivoted a connecting rod I2, the of impact and the same acceleration on the part op end of w ch e a es w th a roc in of ll type b may t be accomplished by lever 13. The rocking lever 13 moves. about a properselection of the lever transmission at the Shaft of thevcomb and it xtreme end is type ba and i t r di t b connected by a connecting rod 15 with the actu- 50 The type bar actuation according to the inven- 'eting arm 16 of t p ba fi Y tion is particularly adapted for typewriters hav- The stationary position of the rocker bar 64,

ing a liftable and lowerable type bar segment. the rod 12 and the intermediate lever 13 is se- A form of embodiment of the'type-bar actuatlected in such fashion that the pivot point situll ing means accordingtothe invention is illustrated ated between the point of engagement of the arm 63 with the rocker bar 64. and the point of engagement with the intermediate lever 13 is located above a straight line connecting these two points of engagement. In consequence the type bar 52 may be moved manually or also mechanically by the intermediate lever 13 without movement on the part of the key bars.

There engages with the intermediate lever I3 at IT a fork 18 possessing an extension bar 19 extending towards the rear end of the machine. On the fork 18 there is provided a hook 80, which is engaged by a spring 8|, the opposite end of which is anchored to a hooked rod 82. The hooked rod 82 is suspended with its free end in apertures 93 in a bar 84, which rests on rocking levers 85 and may be adjusted by means of the adjustment screw 86 for the purpose of regulating the tension of the springs 8|. The extension bar 19 possesses an eye 81, with which the same is guided on the hooked rod 82. At the rear end the extension bar 19 possesses a transverse arm or operating member 68, which is reinforced by being bent over at the upper end. This reinforced operating member v 88 may engage with the universal bar 89, shown in dotted lines, for the shift mechaniiisn 96 and the remaining universally driven par In addition to each intermediate lever-19 there is also provided a lever 9|, which is likewise able to rock about the shaft I4. The lever 9| is bent in hook-shaped fashion, and possesses a projection 92, by means of which it is able to rest against a depending arm 93 of the intermediate lever 13.

Between the arm 93 and the lever 9| there is provided a spring 94, which draws the lever 9| towards the arm 93. The lever 9| is furnished with a projection 95, which may be engaged by the mechanical drive, assuming that this should be provided.

The operation of the type bar actuating mechanism is illustrated in Figs. 1-3. Upon depression of a key bar 56 the rocker bar 64 is first rocked about the projection 61, and the arm 63 of the key bar engages with the long lever am, so that the end H of the short lever arm lifts the type bar 52, through the medium of rod 12, lever 13, the rod 15 and the short lever arm, with considerable force but with slow movement from the pad 55. When the key bar is in motion, the point 96 of the rocker bar 64 meets against the member 65, so that the point of oscillation of the rocker bar is displaced to the point 96. At this moment the two arms of the rocker bar are of approximately equal length. Since the curved portion 69 takes effect from the point 96, the ratio in the length of the lever arms continues to vary, upon additional depression of the key bar, in the manner just described, so that with approximately uniform rate of movement of the key the type bar 52 is accelerated more and more up to the time it strikes the platen, until it reaches the position according to Fig. 3. At the same time the spring 6| is tensioned, and the universal bar actuated by the extension bar 19. When the type bar 52 strikes the platen, the spring 8| returns the lever 13, and accordingly the type bar 52 and the rocker bar 64, into its original position; At

the sametime the key bar 55 is returned to its initial position by the spring 59 independently of the remaining parts.

v If the type bar, for example for cleaning purposes, is rocked by hand, the key bar remains in this connection the intermediate lever 13 performs the same movement as when the type bar 52 is moved by the key bar 56, it will be obvious that mechanical drive of the type bars' may be efiected by operation of the type bars by the actuating roller through the medium of corresponding intermediate members of the usual kind without any resulting reaction of the key bars. The key bars 56 may accordingly be employed for initiating mechanical operation of the type bars in any of the known ways.

If all rocker bars 64 were made the same over the entire width of the machine, the keys in the different rows A, B, C and D, with equal degree of oscillation on the part of the rocker bars, would require to perform movements of difierent extent, viz., row A the smallest movement and row D the greatest movement. These different degrees of movement are extremely undesirable, and occur in particular if the key bars are too short in themselves.

To overcome this drawback, and to obtain completely similar movements on the part of the keys, the rocker bars 64 are made of diflferent length, viz., in such fashion that the rocker bars pertaining to the short key bars A are made longer than the rocker bars 64 pertaining to the longer key bars 13, C or D. Beyond this the rocker curve 69 of the levers 64 is furnished with a different radius, so that with the same extent of movement of all keys the ends II of all rocker bars perform the same stroke.

In the form of embodiment illustrated in the It is also possible to provide on the rocker bars 64 flyweights 91, which complete the stroke of the type when the key bars 56 or the intermediate levers 13 do not impart any further movement to the type bars, in a manner similar to that in connection with so-called silent machines.

It will be obvious from the above that all intermediate levers 13 perform the same angular movementt. In view, however, of the curved type bar segment the upwardly directed arms of the intermediate levers require to be all the longer the more they are situated towards the outside of the machine in order to avoid an inclined pull of the rods on the lever arm 16 of the type bar.

In the machine as described it has been as-. sumed that the type bars do not perform equal strokes, but that the movement thereof increases the greater the distance of the particular type bar from the center of the machine. In order now to accomplish that the rocking motion (equal over the whole width of the machine) of the intermediate levers 13, which also increase towards the outside, is correctly transmitted to the type bars 52, the length of the.arms I6 is made to increase merely to such extent towards the sides of the machine that pertaining to greater rocking angles of the type bars levers there are corresponding rocking chords of the type bar arms. A further condition for the increase of the lever arms 13, I6 consists in the fact that all of the pull rods 15 connecting the same are disposed vertically to the type bar segment in the stationary position or operative position of the type. If the machine is one having a shiftebletype bar segment, the same remark also applies when the segment is in the half-shifted position. In this manner it is accomplished that despite dissimilar angle of operation of the single type bars 52 and equal rocking angle of all intermediate levers 13 the motion is correctly transmitted.

In Figs. 5 and 6 there are shown three different type bar drives, viz., one for a middle type bar 52, one for a type bar situated in the outer third of the segment, and one for the type bar situated in the extreme outside position. Fig. 5 shows in plan view of the type bar segment 5| the intermediate levers 13, the pull rods 15 and the type bars with their arms 16 in projection, i. e., shortened. The true lengths of the levers are shown in Fig. 6. This figure is to be assumed as having been derived by passing on each occasion through the fulcrum of the arm 16 and'the pull rod -15 a vertical plane on to which the single members are projected. The segment in the shifted position is indicated-in broken lines. a It will be quite apparent from Fig. 6 that in the half-shifted position of the segment the pull rod 15 is situated vertically to the direction of movement of the segment. With a view to mass production it may be desirable to vary the lengths of the intermediate levers 13 and the type bar arms i6 merely in groups, so that the rod 15 possess within certain narrow limits a varying inclination in relation to the type bar segment.

It will be understood that no limitation is made to the particular form of embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, and that numerous modifications and alterations are quite possible within the meaning of the above description and the annexed claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

.What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: I

l. A type bar actuating means for typewriters, calculating machines and the like, comprising key bars arranged in rows and rocking about a common axis, and rocker bars and connecting rods transmitting the motion from the said key bars to the type bars, the rocker bars pertaining to each particular row of key bars being so pivoted to the said key bars with the end directed towards the keys that the points of engagement of the said rocker bars with the shorter key bars are situated at a greater distance from the said common axis thanthose of the longer key bars, said rocker bars each having a curved rolling edge, a fixed bar having a surface over which the rocker bars are-adapted to roll and the curved edges of the said rocker bars being so formed that the rear ends of the said rocker bars, situated in a. line, perform an equal degreeof movement and receive equal acceleration, and equal force, substantially as described.

2. A typebar actuating means as claimed in claim 1, which includes intermediate levers additional to the rocker bars for transmitting the motion from the key bars to the type bars and connected between pairs of the rods.

' 3. A type bar actuating means as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rocker bars are of varying length and the rolling edges having curvatures of varying radii, so that with equal extent of movement on the; part of the keys situated in the different rows all rocker bars perform the same angular movement.

4. A type bar actuating means as claimed in claim 1, wherein the curved edges of the rocker bars are so formed that the said bars first rock about a fixed point for initiating the movement of the type bars, and after the requisite initial speed of the type bars has been attained impartto the type bars an increasing speed by varying their lever length as the result of a rolling movement. a

5. A type bar actuating means as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first point of oscillation of the rocker bars is situated in the tangential extension of the previously terminating curved edges of the rocker bars.

6. A type bar actuating means for typewriters, calculating machines and the like,'comprising key bars arranged in rows and rocking about a common axis, and rocker bars, connecting rods and intermediate levers transmitting the motion from the said key bars to the type bars, the point of engagement of the said connecting rods with the said rocker bars being situated above the line connecting their point of connection with the said intermediate levers and the point of connection of the said key bars with the said rocker bars, so that one end of the rocker bars may be elevated when the .type bars are moved without causing movement of the key bars.

7. A type bar actuating means for typewriters, calculating machines and the like, comprising key bars arrangedin rows and rocking about a common axis, and rocker bars having a curved edge operating upon a fixed surface, connecting rods and intermediate levers transmitting the motion from the said key bars to the type bars, the said intermediate levers being mounted independently of the said "key bars and performing the same angular movement over the whole width of the machine and acting with increasing length of lever on the type bars, and the said type bars moving to difierent angular extents and their operating lever lengths increasing in similar fashion but not in a line, so that merely the chord of oscillation of all type bar arms is adapted to the varying extent of movement on the part of the said type bars, the curved edges of the rocker bars being such that the uniform movement of the key bars will be transmitted by increased speed to the type bars.

8. A type bar actuating means for typewriters, calculating machines and the like, comprising key bars arranged in rows and rocking about a common axis, and rocker bars, connecting rods and intermediatelevers transmitting themotion from the said key bars to the type bars, a 'fixed surface upon which said rocker bars are adapted to roll whereby points of contact between said rocker bars and the fixed surface are constantly moving from a point adjacent one end of the rocker bars towards the other end of said bars, a line passing through the axis of oscillation of the said intermediate levers parallel to the path of movement of the type bar segment bisecting the angle of oscillation of the said intermediate levers.

HUGO BENZING. 

